1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to utility boxes such as those used to provide access to drain and supply lines in a wall in order to facilitate the installation of a washing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Washing machines are typically provided with connections for hot and cold water supply hoses and with a drain hose through which waste water is expelled. These hoses need to be connected to respective hot and cold water supply lines and to a drain line. The supply lines and drain line are typically located inside a wall in stud bays formed between respective wall studs. A laundry box is used to provide access to the supply lines and drain line through a finished wall so that the respective hoses can be connected.
A typical laundry box comprises a box having a pair of side walls, top and bottom end walls, a back wall and an open front or face. The bottom wall will include a drain opening through which the drain line can be accessed. A pair of supply line openings for admitting the supply lines into the box are formed in either the top or bottom wall, depending upon the direction from which the supply lines are plumbed. Hot and cold water shut-off valves are mounted inside the box in communication with the respective hot and cold supply lines. Mounting flanges are generally provided on the box for connecting it to one or more nearby wall studs. Wallboard is fastened to the wall studs, leaving a wall opening aligned with the front of the laundry box. When a washing machine is installed, the hot and cold supply hoses are run into the laundry box through the wall opening and connected to the respective hot and cold shut-off valves. Similarly, the washing machine drain hose is run into the laundry box through the wall opening and inserted into the drain line through the drain opening.
In order to make installation of the laundry box more flexible, various improved laundry boxes have been developed which provide alternative openings for the drain line and/or supply lines. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,109 to Humber discloses a laundry box having drain openings in both end walls so that the box can used both in installations where the supply lines come from above the laundry box and installations where the supply lines come from below the laundry box. Other patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,881 to Hobbs et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,410 to Humber, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,286 to Geary disclose laundry boxes which are adaptable to allow the supply lines to be located either to the left or right side of the drain line.
One type of installation not allowed for by any of the prior art is one where the drain line is located on the opposite side of a wall stud from the supply lines, i.e. one where the drain line is plumbed in a stud bay adjacent to the one in which the supply lines are located. One advantage to being able to plumb the drain line in this manner is that it allows a drain line having a complete S-trap to be installed in a single stud bay without cutting (and thereby weakening) any of the wall studs.
What is needed is a laundry box system which is versatile enough to allow the supply lines to come in from different directions, such as either the top or bottom, to be on either side of the drain opening, and to be on the opposite side of a wall stud from the drain line.